Electoral/Political Party Reform: General Peace Agreement for Mozambique
Implementations
Electoral/Political Party Reform – 1992
The 1992 General Peace Agreement (GPA), signed in Rome by President Joaquim Chissano and guerrilla leader Afonso Dhlakama, marked the beginning of a fundamentally successful process of democratic change in Mozambique. It provided an institutional framework for a transformation from a one party to a multi-party democracy by providing the means for both RENAMO and FRELIMO to change themselves into legitimate political parties.1
The electoral act in Protocol III of the General Peace Agreement was passed as law in October 1992.2
- Carrie Manning, The Politics of Peace in Mozambique: Post-Conflict Democratization, 1992-2000 (Westport: Praeger Publishers, 2002).
- Irae Baptista Lundin, “Towards Stable Electoral Laws in Mozambique,” African Journal on Conflict Resolution 4, no. 2 (2004): 97-118, 103.
Electoral/Political Party Reform – 1993
Since the demobilization was still going on, no serious debate on electoral law took place.
Electoral/Political Party Reform – 1994
The GPA changed the Constitution and introduced ‘principles of Electoral LawÕ in article 107. Paragraph 3 of article 107 was revised and changed from majority vote to proportional vote according to the protocol of the GPA. The new Constitution and the GPA had thus established the foundations for the creation of the planning, executing, directing, and supervising organs of the electoral processes for the multi-party elections—the National Electoral Commission (CNE) and the Technical Secretariat of the Electoral Administration (STAE).3
Electoral/Political Party Reform – 1995
The electoral law was adopted in 1994.
Electoral/Political Party Reform – 1996
The electoral law was adopted in 1994. However, there were amendments to the constitution in 1996 by Law 6/96 on 22 November 1996.4
Electoral/Political Party Reform – 1997
The following laws were approved by parliament for local government elections:1
- Law 2/97 on February 18th: Approving the legal framework for the implementation of the local municipalities.
- Law 4/97 on May 28th: Creating the National Electoral Commission.
- Law 5/97 on May 28th: Institutionalizing the systematic electoral census for the realization of the election and opinion polls.
- Law 6/97 on May 28th: Establishing the legal-juridical framework for the elections of the local municipal organs.
- Law 7/98 on May 31st: Establishing the framework for the administrative tutelage of the State upon the local municipalities.
- Law 8/97 on May 31st: Establishing the special norms that regulate the organization and the functioning of the city of Maputo (the capital city of the Republic).
- Law 9/97 on May 31st: Defining the statute of the office holders and members of the local municipalities.
- Law 10/97 on May 31st: Creating the municipalities in cities and villages and in some territorial circumscriptions.
- Law 11/97 on May 31st: Defining and establishing the legal-juridical regime of the municipal finances and patrimony.
Electoral/Political Party Reform – 1998
In 1998, just before the general election, Justice Minister Jose Abudo proposed amendments to the 1997 law creating the National Elections Commission, and a new law on electoral procedures based largely on the law used for the country’s first multi-party elections in 1994. The RENAMO General Secretary, Joao Alexandre, accused the government of waiting until the last minute to draft a new electoral law “even though it has known since 1992 that there would be general elections in 1999.”5 The law was not amended in 1998.
Electoral/Political Party Reform – 1999
In September 1999 Mozambique’s National Parliament amended the country’s electoral law. “The amendments changed the organic structure of the STAE. The innovation was to permit the appointment of two Deputy General Directors by the political parties according to the representation in parliament. They would assist the General Director but have no right to vote. The CNE was also changed. In 1994, the most consensual CNE was composed of members chosen by the government, by RENAMO, as well as from the small parties.”6
“Paragraph 2 of article 19 of law 4/99 that created the CNE, stipulated that in the electoral periods the organic framework of STAE, at each level, is to be complemented by political appointments. Law 4/99 introduced alterations in the composition of CNE, enlarging the organ at provincial, district and city levels. The new composition of the CNE for 1999 increased from eight members in 1998 to 17 members: 15 members elected proportionally by political parties represented in parliament, and two members appointed by government. The president of the organ was to be nominated by civil society and appointed by the President of the Republic. At provincial level CNE was to have seven members, one designated by government and six by the parties represented in the parliament, proportionally. At district and city level, the membership stood at five in the total, one plus four following the same principle. The amended electoral law in 1999 did also provide for a new electoral census, and the limit of 18 years to register to vote, to be completed up to the last day of the census. In 1999 FRELIMO’s candidate won the presidency, and representation in the national parliament is 133 seats for FRELIMO and 117 seats for RENAMO-Electoral Union.”7
Electoral/Political Party Reform – 2000
No developments observed this year.
Electoral/Political Party Reform – 2001
No developments observed this year.
“In 2002 parliament amended the law for local elections to be held in 2003, in order to make it more consensual.”7 Three new laws were discussed and approved, providing a framework for the national elections to be held in 2004:
- Law 18/2002 on October 10: Altering the laws 5/97 and 9/99, related to the institution of the systematic electoral census for the realization of elections and opinions polls.
- Law 19/2002 on October 10: Introducing alterations to the law 6/97, related to the election of the organs of the local municipalities.
- Law 2/2002 on October 10: Creating the National Electoral Commission.
“The new CNE will have 19 members, 17 appointed by the parliament on a proportional basis, and one member without a voting right, appointed by the government. The 19th member is the president of CNE appointed by the civil society. The CNE will choose the provincial and district commission to be in force from 45 days before the date of the electoral census, electoral acts and electoral polls, and ceases its functions ten days after the results have been presented to the public. The electoral commissions at city and district levels, function from 30 days before the date of the electoral census, electoral acts and opinion polls, and cease their functions five days after the results have been presented to the public.”8
“The most notable feature of the amendment was that the CNE was to be headed by a member appointed by the civil society, to be approved by the parliament from the list of at least three names, and nominated by the President of the Republic. The process caused a good feeling of counting in state affairs in the civil society, even if because it was a new practice it has probably not produced the best results in the eyes of all sectors of the civil society. Decisions in the CNE will be made by consensus, there will be a permanent voter’s roll, and CNE will remain a permanent structure.”9
“STAE will have its General Director selected by the CNE, after a public contest based on curriculum evaluation, and appointed by the Cabinet on the recommendation of the CNE. During the electoral period the Director of the STAE is assisted by two Deputy General Directors nominated by the political parties according to the representation in the parliament. This fact will hopefully prevent boycotts and turn the election into a really participatory democratic exercise. Moreover, the new law (20/2002) will hopefully prevent the accusations of fraud that the opposition has made since 1994, the worst in 1999 when the Supreme Court ruled out the appeal.”10